


Frightful Nights

by Melusine11



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Campfires, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Haunted Houses, Idiots in Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 01:08:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16483187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melusine11/pseuds/Melusine11
Summary: Rey had met Ben six weeks ago at this fireside ghost story event a friend of a friend of a friend was running. Ridiculously namedFrightful Nights, but they promised free s’mores and hot chocolate, so really, Rey owed it to herself to attend. Ben was there looking more than a little forlorn on his own, and well, Rey’s true motivator for going over and striking up conversation was because the dude was hot.And now, he had promised to stop by her place of work. Rey didn't care how tough he thought he was. She wasgoingto scare him.





	Frightful Nights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reyofdarkness (mitslits)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitslits/gifts).



> For [Reyofdarkness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitslits/pseuds/reyofdarkness) who requested:
> 
> 1) like a knott's berry farm type thing where one of them is the scare actor and the other is the implacable, unshakable, never-gonna-be-scared tough guy (who definitely turns out to be a wimp -- and you know the scare actors can always tell)  
> 2) modern au where rey and kylo are somehow both at evening bonfires that go on all throughout fall. maybe a ghost story group or something?
> 
> I've rolled them all into one, but I hope you like it!

Rey was good at her job, and she was proud of that fact. Every year she took a seasonal job at _The Haunted Catacombs_ , and it was the highlight of her year.

Last year she had started a bet with fellow cast member, Finn on who could scare the most, who got the better reactions and who could scare the biggest dude. Last year it was an honor system, but this year, both of the rooms they’re in are equipped with scare cams. Set to take rapids fire shots for several seconds and are motion activated. 

She was barely winning, but tonight felt like her night. And she knew this because Ben said he would be coming, and if he didn’t collapse in fear she’d be a little disappointed in herself.

Rey had met Ben six weeks ago at this fireside ghost story event a friend of a friend of a friend was running. Ridiculously named _Frightful Nights_ , but they promised free s’mores and hot chocolate, so really, Rey owed it to herself to attend. Ben was there looking more than a little forlorn on his own, and well, Rey’s true motivator for going over and striking up conversation was because the dude was hot. They hit it off though, much to her delight and the next week they traded numbers as they sat around the fire again, listening to a lackluster performance of _The Girl With The Green Ribbon._

“I always liked that story,” Rey told him, licking chocolate from her fingers as the evening came to a close.

“I barely know you, and this somehow doesn’t surprise me.” She had laughed and stolen his last marshmallow.

He was always so stoic, through the ghost stories. Nothing seemed to phase him beyond the need to drum his fingers on his knees every so often. Once though, and this was the most important part of her plan, once she had seen him flinch.

So now, here she was, waiting, and getting a little nervous. There was only an hour left until closing. Maybe he had changed his mind. The last group had passed through a maybe a minute ago, and she was still riding the high of seeing a teenage guy run full tilt from the room leaving his screaming girlfriend behind. 

Bouncing on her feet in her spot behind the false wall, she waited for the telltale screams from the rooms that came before hers. Sighing she pressed her face against the side wall. Where she could clearly see people coming in, but nothing. Maybe there was a bio incident? Anything more serious and all of the lights would be coming on.

Finally, there was a slam of a door quickly followed by the guttural growl of Poe trying his best at being a werewolf. His lack of dialogue was a huge tell though, there was a tough customer coming through. She waited for a full fifteen count and finally heard the heavy tread of her next victim. Taking a quick peek she almost released a whoop of joy. It was Ben, he made it, and oh shit, she had to actually scare him instead of hiding in her hole celebrating his presence.

She was stationed in what looked like a normal hallway, a weird transition space to the next scare, but the walls narrowed near the top and the floorboards shifted _just so_. It tended to keep guests occupied on making it through and not noticing her. He sighed when he stepped on the touchpad, activating quick a burst of air from above, and that was when Rey made her move. Bursting out, nearly knocking right into Ben as she shrieked. She was a wraith, shrouded in black, and face obscured, and she got him. 

He startled, clearly not expecting her, and certainly not expecting her to nearly crash into him. It was a startled yelp and a stumbling step back and then she was gone, back into her space. She wished she could linger, but shorter stays after a startle were best. You became less scary the longer someone got to look.

When the lights finally come up and she makes her way to the exit with a smile on her face. She’s shrugging out of her wraps when Finn and Poe find her.

“Yo, that solo that came through. What the fuck?” Poe asked, which made Rey snort, hiding her face in her locker.

“Yeah. It was almost like someone bet him he couldn’t make it through without a reaction.” Finn groused.

“I scared him,” Rey grinned, shutting her locker and slipping her hoodie over her head.

Finn turned to her and started for several long seconds and then, “I call bullshit.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you did,” she practically purred, then clapped. “Let’s go. To the exit room. There’s proof!”

They have to bribe Rose with dinner and milkshakes at the diner down the road to pull up the footage.

“You’re lucky I like you three,” she sighed, restarting the computer. “Hmmmm, okay, here we go,” she said after a few minutes. “Yup. Rey got him.” She’s smiling when she turned the monitor so they could all look.

“Boo,” Finn groaned and Poe leaned closer for a better look.

“He’s pretty hot,” Poe said, and Rose hummed in what might be agreement.

“Yup,” Rey grinned, “well, come on, I’m starving.”

“You might be winning now,” Finn nudged her as they filed out of _The Haunted Catacombs_ , “but I’m going to get you back.”

“I’d like to see you try. That’s got bonus points written all over it.”

Rey was on her second chocolate shake when she finally gets a text from Ben asking if she was done with work, and as soon as she replied that she was, her phone rang.

“Ooooh, Rey, calls this late at night only mean one thing.” Poe teased. “A secret paramour.” 

Rey rolled her eyes, pressing the button to accept the call, “shut up, he’s not a secret paramour. Who even says that?”

“Well, he’s not a secret anymore,” Rose added, dipping a french fry into her milkshake.

“Yes, clearly. The secret is out,” she huffed before turning away from them in the booth. “Sorry, hi.”

 _“Is this a bad time?”_ Ben’s voice was hesitant.

“No, no, it’s fine. Just out for a late night meal with some of the cast. What’s up? What did you think? I’m guessing that’s why you’re calling.”

 _“It was okay. Not nearly as scary as you claimed it to be,”_ he said, and Rey scoffed, _“What?”_

“Nothing, nothing. I just vividly remember the look on your face when I scared you tonight.”

There’s a beat of silence and then **“ _that was you?_** _”_ Which had Rey cackling so hard she started to tear up a bit, _“Rey.”_

“Sorry, sorry. That was me.”

_“Fuck. Are you ever gonna let me forget this?”_

“Not on your life. Do you want me to order prints for you?” she asked, finally looking back at everyone at the table, only to find them staring at her. “What?” 

“You know the hot guy!” Poe accused, pointing his fork at her.

 _“Are they talking about me?”_ Ben’s voice came through the phone, _“did he just refer to me as ‘the hot guy?’”_

“Yes,” Rey replied to them both.

“You sneaky little thing, so your secret paramour just so happens to be the guy unable to be scared by anyone _but you_. Awfully convenient,” Poe sat back, crossing his arms over his chest, looking smug.

“Would you shut up,” Rey hissed, trying to aim a kick at Poe under the table. “Ben, I’m so sorry,” she began speaking into the phone with a sigh.

 _“No, it’s okay, actually,”_ and she could hear the smile in his tone, _“I want to clarify something.”_

“Uh, okay?”

_“It’s about you thinking I’m hot.”_

The phone slipped from Rey’s hands in her shock, clattering onto the seat of the booth before she scrambled to pick it back up.

“Tell him we are at dinner, and not to be saying such filthy things to you. Diners are not appropriate places for phone sex.”

“Shut the hell up, Poe. Finn, let me out of this booth. I need away from Poe before I get arrested for attempted murder.” She took a breath and made sure her phone was facing the right way and the call was still connected, and then “Ben, give me a minute to get away from these so-called friends and then we can have this discussion.”

 _“You know, I always imagined this going differently,”_ he rambled as she moved through the diner and out the front door. _“More panicking on my end, at least. Not over the phone, either.”_

“What are you talking about?” Rey asked, stepping into the cool night air.

 _“You’re kidding, right?”_ Ben laughed, _“that first night we met, when you sat down next to me, I thought I was the luckiest guy there that night, and then you actually talked to me._ ”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” She groaned.

_“Why didn’t you?”_

“Uh, because you’re way out of my league,” Rey said, beginning to pace up and down the short sidewalk.

He laughed and Rey smiled at the sound. _“Can I ask you something else?”_

“Of course.”

 _“Great, because I really would rather do this in person and with your friends not staring at you through the diner window,”_ he said, and Rey turned to look sharply up at the wide windows nestled between the chrome and neon. Sure enough, there they all were, staring out at her. At least they had the grace to look a little sorry at being caught.

“Wait, what?” Rey asked, realizing he had kept talking and she was too busy rolling her eyes at the faces being made at her.

_“I asked what diner you’re at? I could come and pick you up. So we could talk?”_

She pulled the phone away from her face for a moment, “Ben, it’s almost one in the morning.”

_“I know.”_

Rey inhaled shakily and then rattled off the name of where they were at.

 _“I can be there in ten,”_ he said, and then hung up.

She spun quickly and ran back into the diner to grab her purse. 

“Please, please tell me everything that was said,” Poe demanded as soon as she was within hearing distance of them.

“I’m not going to do that, Finn, can you hand me my stuff?”

Finn did as asked, smiling knowingly, “He’s coming to pick you up, isn’t he?”

She nodded, “yup.” They all let out a whoop of delight, and Rey gave them a wavering smile.

“You know you still have stage makeup on, right?” Finn asked, trying to be helpful and Rey sighed, nodding again. “You’re just going to leave it on?”

“Is it that bad?” she asked slowly. She didn’t really wear a lot, just around her eyes. A ton of black. “Do I look like a raccoon?”

“A sexy raccoon!” Rose beamed and the boys were quick to nod in agreement. “I’m sure he won’t mind, or,” and she unzipped her purse and dug around for a moment before withdrawing, with a triumphant flourish, a travel pack of makeup remover wipes.

“I could kiss you right now, Rose,” Rey cried, snatching them from her and hightailing it to the bathroom.

“Save it for your secret paramour!” Poe shouted after her, and she finally laughed.

“Not so secret anymore!”

She already had a wipe in her hand when she pushed open the bathroom door. There wasn’t time to get all of it, just make it _less_ , and she did. It took longer than she wanted, but she would just have to be satisfied looking like she was a little heavy handed with the eyeliner. 

“Okay,” she sighed, arriving back at the booth, “how do I look?”

“Much better!” Rose smiled, taking the packet back. “A car pulled in while you were fixing your face, so you should probably go.”

“Yeah, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Poe gave her a roguish wink and she huffed, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, can you?” she asked, waving at her plate.

“Already done,” Finn told her, “but you owe us in details tomorrow night.”

“We’ll see. Thanks for dinner!” She gave them all one last smile and then tried to casually stroll out of the diner. 

He was there, waiting, car idling in the closest non-handicapped spot, and she picked up the pace a bit. The driver’s side door opened suddenly and Rey watched him get out, stupidly wide smiled on her face at seeing him. She felt giddy and nervous, but he was smiling so sweetly at her, she knew it would be fine

She watched him come around the car to open the passenger’s side door for her, and for a moment, they stood there, his arms braced on the top of the door, and hers falling to rest on the interior panel

“Hi,” she breathed, still smiling.

He reached out slowly, fingers brushing her cheek then tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, his smile never waning. “Hey.”


End file.
